Eastern Meadowlark.

[Karl Egressy]

I saw one close to home about ten days ago and it was singing just like this one in February on Joe Overstreed Road, in Florida.
Sorry for the perch but this is what they like to perch on.
Part of the yellow on the head was overexposed that I fixed in Raw.
I reduced the redness of the background in color balance by moving the slider towards cyan in PP.
I think the bird pops better this way.
Thanks for looking.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Manual Exposure
Tv 1/640
Av 7.1
Spot Metering
Speed 400
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM

[Arthur Morris]

I like this one a lot. Though I love a forward-facing pose for this species that shows that killer breast the rear view here works well with the BKGR tones and the rather nice perch. Good use of d-o-f. I only wish for a bit more head turn towards us. 90 degrees is perfect for over the shoulder images.

[laurie golden]

Very nice and sharp. You can see lots of yellow for a partial back view which is a nice alternative to a front view. Perch is fine - a wooden post is always good for a meadowlark.

[adrian dancy]

A superb image here Karl. The background colour and tones are perfect. It is a pity that the bird's feathers are getting tatty but I suppose it has to save body energy for feeding chicks rather than moult. In spite of that this is still a handsome bird! One for the wall Karl!

[Jack Breakfast]

And of course a meadowlark's tongue is always a bonus...any bird's really...

[dankearl]

Nice Karl, hard to get them out of the grass.

[Ron Sprunger]

I like this a lot. Very nice job in capture and in post. And as a bonus I learned from Artie that 90 degree HA over the shoulder is good. What a great forum!

[jack williamson]

Great image Karl, you have captured a great pose with an awesome bg. F7.1 was perfect as the bird and perch are sharp everywhere. Well done.

Jack

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Well executed and well processed shot, Karl. good techs, nice perch and BG. Calling poses are always great. If mine, I'll just have a little more space on the right.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot. I just love the calling pose, great light, excellent detail, and lovely background.
Very well done.

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Karl! I like the calling pose, sharpness, details, composition and BG.